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Did we lose another recipe? X users believe the Swag Surf has been gentrified after Taylor Swift and co’s flavorless attempt at the dance.
The world’s most famous Chiefs fan, Taylor Swift (insert sarcasm), has become a fixture of NFL Sunday conversations. Usually, most of the conversation is about cameras constantly cutting to Swift and her friends to see the ridiculously popular singer’s reactions to whatever her beau, Travis Kelce, does something on the field.
That continued to be the case during the Chiefs NFL Wild Card matchup with the Miami Dolphins this past weekend. Swift once again went viral for her custom Nike puffer jacket to battle the extreme cold and her flavorless attempt at doing the Swag surf.
A clip shared on the Sunday Night Football official account on X, formerly Twitter, showed the “Bad Blood” singer butchering the dance made famous by Fast Life Yungstaz for their song “Swag Surfin.”
The jokes were immediate, and so were the fears that melanin-deficient publications and websites would somehow credit Taylor Swift for the song’s popularity, and as expected, that happened.
Black Twitter, yes, we are still calling it that was up in arms after Sporting News dropped an article with the headline:
“What is Swag Surfin? Everything to know about Chiefs’ viral dance celebration as Taylor Swift, Donna Kelce participate.”
The article literally broke down the dance and eventually had to be updated with the dance originating in Atlanta.
Even Plies chimed in on the matter.
“I Luv Seeing Taylor Swift & The Kansas City Chiefs Rock Out To “Swag Surfing” On Sundays. But Media Let’s Stop Acting Like They Created It! Let’s Give Props To F.L.Y, Atlanta & The HBCU Community For Birthing The Phenomenon!!” the rapper said in a post on X.
Not one lie detected in Plies post.
We are sure Taylor Swift meant no harm, but boy, did they try it.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
2. He definitely tried it
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An analyst on MSNBC compared Donald Trump’s behavior in his defamation case to Kanye West’s lashing out against Taylor Swift.
On Thursday afternoon (January 18), the court was dismissed for the third day of the defamation trial brought by writer E. Jean Carroll against former President Donald Trump. The day saw Carroll take the stand and detail exactly how Trump has consistently attacked her character after she sued him for sexual assault. The treatment that she received at the hands of Trump and his legal team struck a familiar chord with MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin.
Rubin began by writing in a post on X, formerly Twitter that “today’s theme — other than Judge Lew Kaplan’s increasingly acerbic handling of objections — owes more to Kanye than T. Swift, to this Swiftie’s chagrin.”
The lawyer elaborated on her theory in subsequent tweets based on the cross-examination of Northwestern University professor Ashlee Humphreys by Trump lawyer Michael Maddio. Maddio argued that Carroll asking for $10 million in damages (supported by Humphreys’ analysis as a damages expert) should be tossed out since she made more money after Trump defamed her. “And that’s when I realized: Their defense is straight out of Ye’s ‘Famous,’ in which he boasts he made ‘that b–ch,’ aka today’s Time Person of the Year, well, famous,” Rubin wrote in the thread.
“And just like Kanye’s jumping on the MTV Music Awards stage is hardly what made Taylor famous, nor can Trump credibly claim responsibility for Carroll’s success in life. She was 76 when she came forward with her story of having been sexually assaulted by him in the ‘90s.” Rubin then further dismantled the argument, claiming that the “I own your success & you’re to blame for your injuries” defense that Trump is trying to put forth is paltry.
Trump was not present in court, having been granted permission to attend the funeral of his mother-in-law. The former president has made it a point to be irascible while he was in court, at one point entering into a back-and-forth with Judge Kaplan. The exchange prompted Trump to call him a “nasty man” and a “Trump-hating guy” after leaving the courtroom.
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Taylor Swift claims her ninth album to reach 2 million in U.S. sales, as 1989 (Taylor’s Version) surpassed the threshold in the week ending Jan. 11. According to data tracking firm Luminate, the album sold 17,000 copies that week, uppping its total sales figure since its release in October to 2.014 million. (Sales are traditional album purchases – inclusive of all physical configurations [CD, vinyl, cassette] and digital album downloads.)
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1989 (Taylor’s Version) is the only album released in 2023 to have sold 2 million copies in the U.S. — it’s also the only album to have surpassed 1 million copies in 2023 (It cleared the million-mark in its debut week, ending Nov. 2.) The last-released album to cross both marks was Swift’s own Midnights, which was released in October of 2022. Midnights sold more than a million copies in its first week, and then reached the 2 million-mark in February of 2023.
Here’s a recap of Swift’s nine albums that have sold at least 2 million copies each, ranked by largest total sales: Fearless (7.285 million), 1989 (6.472 million), her self-titled album (5.871 million), Speak Now (4.817 million), Red (4.582 million), Midnights (2.814 million), Reputation (2.478 million), Folklore (2.289 million) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (2.014 million).
Swift has four more albums that have sold at least 1 million each, lifting her sum of million-selling albums to a lucky 13.
Swift’s continued strong sales should come as no surprise, as she was the year’s top-selling act in the U.S., by album sales, in each of the last five years (2019-23). And, she’s done so while an increasing number of music fans have adopted streaming as a primary means of music consumption. Swift, like many acts, has leaned in to creating additional versions of an album for purchase by superfans, which helps increase sales figures. Her albums sold spectacularly on vinyl as well, and was the configuration’s top-seller in 2023 when she accounted for one of every 15 vinyl albums sold.
On Billboard’s latest Top Album Sales chart (dated Jan. 20), 1989 (Taylor’s Version) spends a sixth non-consecutive week at No. 1, with its 17,000 copies sold (down 28%). Swift has a total of seven albums in the top 10, as 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is joined by six other former Swift leaders in the region. She ties her own record for the most concurrent titles in the top 10 by a single act.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Swift’s other six titles in the Jan. 20-dated top 10 on Top Album Sales are: Midnights (rising 3-2 with 11,000; down 14%), Folklore (4-3 with 10,000; down 21%), Lover (6-5 with 9,000; down 25%), Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (8-6 with 7,000; down 30%), Evermore (5-7 with nearly 7,000; down 47%) and Red (Taylor’s Version) (14-10 with nearly 6,000; down 18%).
As for the non-Swift titles in the top 10, they are: Stray Kids’ former No. 1 ROCK-STAR (falling 2-4 with a little over 9,000; down 39%), Olivia Rodrigo’s chart-topping Guts (7-8 with 6,000; down 41%) and ATEEZ’s The World EP.Fin: Will (holding at No. 9 with nearly 6,000; down 34%).
In the week ending Jan. 11, there were 1.195 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 15.6% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 936,000 (down 17.7%) and digital albums comprised 259,000 (down 6.8%).
There were 439,000 CD albums sold in the week ending Jan. 11 (down 13.6 week-over-week) and 492,000 vinyl albums sold (down 21.1%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 946,000 (down 25.5% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 1.117 million (down 44%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 2.611 million (down 34.1% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 2.073 million (down 36.9%) and digital album sales total 538,000 (down 20.4%).
Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time closed out 2023 as the most popular album of the year in the U.S., according to music data tracking firm Luminate. The album’s lead single, “Last Night,” was the year’s most-streamed song by on-demand audio streams, while Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” was the most-heard song on the radio. Total music consumption in the U.S. – as measured in equivalent album units – increased by 12.6% in 2023. (View the U.S. 2023 Luminate Year-End Music Report.)
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See the year’s top 10 albums chart, along with other year-end rankings and overall industry volume numbers, below.
But first, the fine print:
Equivalent album units – for album titles and chart rankings cited below (but not industry volume numbers) – comprise traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album, or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. Album titles and album chart rankings by equivalent album units do not include user-generated content (UGC) streams, but UGC streams are included in Luminate’s industry volume numbers. (UGC streams are not factored into any of Billboard’s weekly charts.)
For the sake of clarity, equivalent album units do not include listening to music on broadcast radio or digital radio broadcasts. All numbers cited in this story are rounded, and reflect U.S. consumption only.
Luminate’s equivalent album unit totals include SEA and TEA for an album’s songs registered before an album’s release, but during the tracking period of Dec. 30, 2022, through Dec. 28, 2023.
Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991 when the company was known as SoundScan. Luminate’s sales, streaming and airplay data is used to compile Billboard’s weekly charts. Luminate’s 2023 tracking year ran from Dec. 30, 2022, through Dec. 28, 2023.
Luminate is an independently operated company and a subsidiary of PME TopCo, a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and Eldridge. Billboard is an independently operated company owned by PME Holdings, a subsidiary of PME TopCo.
Highlights from Luminate’s 2023 year-end data:
Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time was Luminate’s top album of 2023. It’s the second time Wallen has led the year-end list. He also was tops in 2021 with Dangerous: The Double Album.
On Luminate’s 2023 U.S. year-end top 10 most popular albums ranking, Taylor Swift has five of the top 10 titles – a single-year Luminate-era record.
Total U.S. album consumption increased by 12.6% in 2023.
R&B/hip-hop continues to hold firm as the top U.S. core genre by total album consumption; the world music genre – inclusive of the Korean pop (K-pop) genre – had the largest percentage gain year-over-year.
Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” tallied 1.015 billion U.S. on-demand audio streams in 2023 — the most U.S. on-demand audio streams a song has earned in a calendar year. It is only the second song ever to exceed 1 billion on-demand audio streams in a calendar year.
Yearly U.S. on-demand audio streams surpassed 1 trillion for the second time.
27% of all on-demand audio streams in the U.S. in 2023 were R&B/hip-hop songs, the largest share of any core genre.
Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is the first vinyl album in Luminate history to sell 1 million copies in a calendar year in the U.S.
Swift sold more albums in 2023 than any other act, accounting for 6% of all albums sold, industry-wide.
The top 10-selling CD albums of 2023 were all by Swift or K-pop acts.
Total U.S. album sales grew 5.2% in 2023 – just the second year that album sales grew in the last 10 years.
U.S. vinyl album sales outsold CDs for the third year in a row. 2023 marked the 18th consecutive year vinyl album sales grew in the U.S., and the largest year for vinyl album sales since Luminate began tracking data in 1991.
47.1% of all albums sold in 2023 in the U.S. – across all configurations, physical & digital combined – were vinyl LPs. 57% of all physical albums sold were vinyl.
Total U.S. album sales for the year (physical and digital download purchases combined) grew by 5.2%.
Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) sold 1.975 million in traditional album sales in the U.S. in 2023 – the biggest-selling album of any year since 2015.
One Thing at a Time debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart dated March 18, 2023, and spent 16 nonconsecutive weeks atop the tally. That marked the most weeks at No. 1 for any album since Adele’s blockbuster 21 spent 24 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 in 2011-12. One Thing at a Time is the second Wallen album to be named Luminate’s year-end No. 1 album, after his previous release, Dangerous: The Double Album, in 2021. Wallen is the first artist to have Luminate’s year-end No. 1 album twice in a three-year span since Drake led the year-end ranking in 2018 (with Scorpion) and in 2016 (with Views).
Nearly all of One Thing at a Time’s units earned in 2023 were powered by on-demand streams of its 36 songs. Its collected tracks generated 6.657 billion on-demand streams in the U.S., equaling 92.5% of the album’s total activity for the year (or, 4.962 million SEA units of its total 5.362 million units). One Thing at a Time was also the most-streamed album of 2023.
One Thing at a Time sold 326,000 in traditional album sales in 2023 (making it the No. 13-biggest-selling album of the year). The set also generated 745,000 in individual digital track sales, equaling nearly 75,000 in TEA units.
2023 marks the eighth year in a row in which Luminate’s year-end top album is by a solo male artist. The last time a solo male didn’t finish at No. 1 was in 2015, when Adele’s 25 ruled.
One Thing at a Time’s 5.362 million equivalent album units earned in 2023 is the largest sum for any album measured in a calendar year since 2015, when Adele’s 25 tallied 8.008 million and was the year’s top album.
One Thing at a Time spun off the massive multi-format chart hit “Last Night,” which spent 16 weeks atop the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. The tune also closes 2023 as the most-streamed song by on-demand audio streams.
TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2023 IN U.S., BY TOTAL EQUIVALENT ALBUM UNITS1. Morgan Wallen, One Thing at a Time (5.362 million)2. Taylor Swift, Midnights (3.209 million)3. SZA, SOS (3.172 million)4. Taylor Swift, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (2.872 million)5. Morgan Wallen, Dangerous: The Double Album (2.179 million)6. Taylor Swift, Lover (1.875 million)7. Travis Scott, Utopia (1.782 million)8. Taylor Swift, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (1.775 million)9. Taylor Swift, Folklore (1.612 million)10. Metro Boomin, Heroes & Villains (1.573 million)
Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through Dec. 28, 2023. UGC streams are not included in this chart, but are included in Luminate’s on-demand streaming charts (below).
While Wallen has a pair of titles in the year-end top 10, Taylor Swift looms even larger. Swift has five albums among Luminate’s year-end top 10 – the first time any act has placed that many albums among Luminate’s year-end top 10 since the company began tracking data in 1991. Previously, the most titles any single act had among the year’s top 10 was three, achieved by Garth Brooks in 1993.
On Luminate’s year-end top 10 albums ranking, Swift is found at No. 2 (Midnights, 3.209 million units), No. 4 (1989 [Taylor’s Version], 2.872 million), No. 6 (Lover, 1.875 million), No. 8 (Speak Now [Taylor’s Version], 1.775 million) and No. 9 (Folklore, 1.612 million). Just two of those albums were released in 2023: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and 1989 (Taylor’s Version). Midnights was issued in late 2022, while Folklore bowed in 2020 and Lover arrived in 2019. All of Swift’s catalog in 2023 was buoyed by her stadium-filling The Eras Tour and its film adaptation Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.
Swift also has five of the top 10-selling albums of 2023, five of the year’s top 10-selling vinyl albums and three of the top 10-selling CD albums. She’s also No. 1 on each of the three rankings. (See lists, below.)
TOTAL ALBUM CONSUMPTION INCREASES 12.6%: Equivalent album units increased by 12.6% in 2023, to 1.097 billion (up from 974.9 million in 2022). There were 28 albums that earned at least 1 million equivalent album units in 2023 – up from 19 in 2022.
R&B/HIP-HOP LEADS AMONG GENRES: R&B/hip-hop continues to hold firm as the top genre by total album consumption, with 277.27 million units earned in 2023 – equating to 25.3% of total volume (1.097 billion units) last year across all of Luminate’s core genres measured. R&B/hip-hop consumption increased by 5.9% in 2023 over its volume in 2022 (261.72 million). However, R&B/hip-hop’s share of total consumption decreased from 26.8% in 2022 to 25.3% in 2023. (R&B/hip-hop is an umbrella genre for Luminate that contains most titles categorized as R&B and/or rap.)
2023’s second-largest genre, by total album consumption, was rock with 212.42 million units (up 9.1% from 194.72 million in 2022). Pop music was third, with 135.32 million (up 9.4% from 123.72 million in 2022), country was fourth, with 92.19 million (up 21.8% from 75.69 million in 2022) and Latin was fifth, with 75.26 million (up 21.9% from 61.73 million in 2022).
In terms of the largest percentage gains among Luminate’s core genres, year-over-year, the world music genre had the biggest increase in 2023. The genre’s 34.1% gain last year (29.94 million units vs. 22.32 million in 2022) is inclusive of Korean pop (K-pop) music. (K-pop is one of the many music genres housed within the larger world music core genre.) The second-and-third-largest percentage increases in 2023 among Luminate’s core genres belonged to Latin (up 21.9%, to 75.26 million in 2023, vs. 61.73 million in 2022) and country (up 21.8%, to 92.19 million, vs. 75.69 million in 2022).
TAYLOR SWIFT’S ‘1989 (TAYLOR’S VERSION)’ IS 2023’s TOP-SELLING ALBUM: Taylor Swift’s most recent release, and her fourth re-recorded project, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), was 2023’s top-selling album in the U.S., with 1.975 million copies sold across all configurations (physical and digital combined: CD, vinyl LP, cassette, digital download album). See the top 10-selling albums, below.
TOP 10-SELLING ALBUMS OF 2023 IN U.S. (PHYSICAL & DIGITAL SALES COMBINED)1. Taylor Swift, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (1.975 million)2. Taylor Swift, Midnights (973,000)3. Taylor Swift, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (908,000)4. Travis Scott, Utopia (575,000)5. Stray Kids, 5-STAR (526,000)6. Taylor Swift, Folklore (466,000)7. TOMORROW X TOGETHER, The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION (444,000)8. Taylor Swift, Lover (425,000)9. Olivia Rodrigo, Guts (404,000)10. Stray Kids, ROCK-STAR (229,000)Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through Dec. 28, 2023.
With 1.975 million copies sold, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is the biggest-selling album of any year since 2015, when Adele’s 25 sold 7.441 million copies. An album by Swift has been the year’s top-seller in six of the last 10 years: 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in 2023, Midnights in 2022, Folklore in 2020, Lover in 2019, Reputation in 2017 and 1989 in 2014. She also had the top-seller in 2009 with Fearless. Swift is the only act to have the top-selling album of the year at least seven times since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991.
1989 (Taylor’s Version) was also the top-selling vinyl LP of 2023 (1.014 million sold) and the top-selling CD album of the year (800,000 sold). 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is the first album to sell a million copies on vinyl in a calendar year since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991.
Sales of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) were bolstered by its availability across 15 physical configurations: five color vinyl variants, eight CD editions and two cassette albums. Further, of the five vinyl variants, Target carried a color edition that includes one bonus track (“Sweeter Than Fiction”). The set was also issued in two download editions – a standard 21-song version and a deluxe 22-track edition which adds a re-recorded version of the album’s “Bad Blood,” featuring Kendrick Lamar.
Swift, like many acts, leaned into creating additional versions of an album for purchase by superfans. All of the top 10-selling albums of 2023 were aided by their availability across multiple iterations, including many that contained collectible branded merchandise or color vinyl.
Swift by far sold the most albums of any act in 2023 in the U.S., as her collected catalog sold 6.172 million copies (across all configurations, physical and digital combined). Her sales accounted for 6% of all album sales last year across all albums by all artists. The second-biggest selling act, in terms of album sales in 2023, was K-pop group Stray Kids with 1.205 million copies sold.
TOTAL U.S. ALBUM SALES INCREASE BY 5.2%: Total U.S. album sales increased by 5.2% in 2023 to 105.32 million copies sold (up from 100.09 million in 2022). 2023 marked just the second year album sales increased in the last 10 years, following 2021. Album sales declined in every year from 2012-20, and again in 2022, as fans increasingly adopt streaming services as a means to consume music.
Total U.S. physical album sales (CD, vinyl LP, cassette, etc.) increased by 8.9% to 87 million in 2023 (up from 79.89 million in 2022). Digital album sales declined by 9.3% to 18.32 million in 2023 (down from 20.2 million in 2022).
VINYL REIGNS: For the third consecutive year, and the third year since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991, vinyl albums outsold CD albums in the U.S. Vinyl once again is the leading configuration for album purchases for the third year in a row.
Vinyl was the dominant configuration for album purchases in the U.S. up until the early 1980s. After that, cassettes took hold until the early 1990s, when the CD configuration blossomed and remained king until 2021, when vinyl retook the top slot.
49.61 million vinyl albums were sold in 2023 (up 14.2% from 43.46 million in 2022). 2023 marked the 18th consecutive year vinyl album sales grew in the U.S., and the largest year for vinyl album sales since Luminate began tracking data in 1991.
TOP 10-SELLING VINYL ALBUMS OF 2023 IN U.S.1. Taylor Swift, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (1.014 million)2. Taylor Swift, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (510,000)3. Taylor Swift, Midnights (492,000)4. Travis Scott, Utopia (373,000)5. Taylor Swift, Folklore (308,000)6. Olivia Rodrigo, Guts (267,000)7. Taylor Swift, Lover (256,000)8. Lana Del Rey, Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (215,000)9. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (206,000)10. Lana Del Rey, Born to Die (192,000)Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through Dec. 28, 2023.
The top-selling vinyl album of 2023 is Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) with 1.014 million sold. That marks the largest yearly sales total for a vinyl album, and the first vinyl set to sell a million in a calendar year, since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991. The effort also scored the largest sales week for a vinyl set since 1991 when it debuted with 693,000 copies sold in its first week.
Swift closed 2023 with five of the top 10-selling vinyl albums. Further, her catalog of albums sold 3.484 million copies on vinyl in 2023 – the most of any artist. (Lana Del Rey was the second-biggest selling act on vinyl in 2023, with 646,000 sold.) Swift’s vinyl sales accounted for 7% of the industry’s total vinyl album sales in 2023.
Vinyl album sales comprised 47.1% of all album sales in the U.S. in 2023 (49.61 million of 105.32 million). Vinyl LPs accounted for 57% of all physical album sold last year (49.61 million of 87 million). Both sums are Luminate-era records for vinyl’s share of the album sales market in the U.S.
In 2023 a total of 99 albums each sold at least 50,000 copies on vinyl – up from 88 in 2022. Comparatively, 65 albums on the CD configuration sold at least 50,000 copies in 2023 (up from 56 in 2022).
CD ALBUM SALES INCREASE, SWIFT & K-POP DOMINATE: 36.83 million CD albums were sold in 2023 (up 2.7% compared to 35.87 million in 2022), making it the second-most popular configuration for album purchases.
The top 10-selling CD albums of 2023 are comprised entirely of releases by Swift and K-pop artists. All profit from their availability across multiple collectible editions for superfans.
Swift sold the most CD albums in 2023, with 1.985 million copies sold across her entire catalog of titles. Stray Kids wrap as the No. 2-seller on CD, with 1.188 million sold. Swift’s CD sales represented 5.4% of all CD albums sold in 2023, industry-wide.
TOP 10-SELLING CD ALBUMS OF 2023 IN U.S.1. Taylor Swift, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (800,000)2. Stray Kids, 5-STAR (520,000)3. TOMORROW X TOGETHER, The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION (442,000)4. Stray Kids, ROCK-STAR (381,000)5. NewJeans, 2nd EP Get Up (332,000)6. TWICE, Ready to Be (303,000)7. SEVENTEEN, SEVENTEEN 10th Mini Album Fml (288,000)8. Taylor Swift, Midnights (276,000)9. Taylor Swift, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (267,000)10. Jung Kook, Golden (244,000)Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through Dec. 28, 2023.
Digital album sales were the third-most popular configuration in 2023 for album purchases, and the category dropped by 9.3% to 18.32 million (down from 20.2 million in 2022). The top-selling digital album of 2023 was Swift’s Midnights, with 201,000 downloads sold. Swift additionally was the top-selling artist in terms of digital albums in 2023, with 667,000 downloads sold. Morgan Wallen was the second-biggest-selling artist in terms of download albums, with 187,000 sold. Swift’s digital sales presented 3.6% of all download albums sold, industry-wide.
CASSETTE SALES STEADY: After cassette album sales jumped 28% in 2022, the niche configuration mostly stayed steady in 2023, slipping just 0.75%. In 2023, a total of 436,400 cassette albums were sold – a sliver less than the 439,700 sold in 2022. Cassettes were the leading album configuration for purchases from the early 1980s until the early 1990s. Today, cassette tapes are frequently sold exclusively on an artist’s webstore and in collectible editions. In 2023, the Billboard 200 chart saw No. 1 albums that boasted a cassette configuration from Blink-182’s One More Time, Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts and Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version), Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and Midnights (which first led the list in 2022).
TOTAL STREAMING INCREASES 14.6%, ON-DEMAND AUDIO UP 12.7%: Total U.S. on-demand song streams (audio and video combined, inclusive of UGC streams) increased by 14.6% to 1.453 trillion in 2023 (up from 1.268 trillion in 2022). Yearly on-demand audio streams (again, inclusive of UGC) surpassed 1 trillion for a second time, with 1.249 trillion (up 12.7% from 1.108 trillion in 2022).
On-demand audio streams comprised 86% of all on-demand streams in 2023, with the remainder generated by on-demand video.
The R&B/hip-hop genre accounted for the most on-demand streams (audio and video combined, inclusive of UGC) in 2023, among Luminate’s core genres, with 26.6% of the year’s volume (387.09 billion of 1.453 trillion).
Rock had the second-largest share of on-demand song streams (audio and video combined, inclusive of UGC) in 2023, with 16.2% of volume (235.11 billion of 1.453 trillion). Pop was third with 12.6% (182.63 billion of 1.453 trillion), Latin was fourth with 8.3% (120.18 billion of 1.453 trillion) country was fifth with 7.8% (113.09 billion of 1.453 trillion).
As for year-over-year growth in total on-demand streams (audio and video combined, inclusive of UGC) among Luminate’s core genres, world music had the largest percentage growth, increasing by 33.3% to 35.97 billion, as compared to 26.98 billion in 2022. The respective second- and third-biggest increases, by percentage, belonged to the genres of dance/electronic (23.2% to 54.37 billion, up from 44.14 billion in 2022) and country (22.2% to 113.09 billion, up from 92.52 billion in 2022).
Looking just at on-demand audio streams for 2023 (inclusive of UGC), R&B/hip-hop was tops with 27% of volume (337.21 billion of 1.249 trillion). Rock (17%; 211.72 billion of 1.249 trillion), pop (11.8%; 147.11 billion of 1.249 trillion), country (8.5%; 106.28 billion of 1.249 trillion) and Latin (8%; 99.71 billion of 1.249 trillion) were Nos. 2-5 for 2023, respectively, as they were in 2022 and 2021.
The genres that saw the largest percentage growth in year-over-year on-demand audio streams (inclusive of UGC) were world music (up 26.2% to 27.52 billion, up from 21.8 billion in 2022), Latin (up 24.1% to 99.71 billion, up from 80.34 billion in 2022) and country (up 23.7% to 106.28 billion, up from 85.91 billion in 2022).
Note: UGC streams are included in Luminate’s industry streaming on-demand volume numbers and its year-end streaming song charts. UGC streams are not factored into any of Billboard’s weekly charts.
‘LAST NIGHT’ SURPASSED 1 BILLION ON-DEMAND AUDIO STREAMS: Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” was the most-streamed song of 2023 in the U.S. by on-demand audio streams (inclusive of UGC), with 1.015 billion – the most U.S. on-demand audio streams a song has earned in a calendar year.
“Last Night” is the second song to surpass 1 billion on-demand audio streams in a calendar year in the U.S., following Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” (featuring Billy Ray Cyrus), which cleared 1.002 billion in 2019.
See the top 10 most-streamed songs, by on-demand audio, below.
TOP 10 MOST STREAMED SONGS OF 2023 IN U.S., ON DEMAND AUDIO1. Morgan Wallen, “Last Night” (1.015 billion)2. SZA, “Kill Bill” (802.60 million)3. Zach Bryan, “Something in the Orange” (656.07 million)4. Miley Cyrus, “Flowers” (634.42 million)5. SZA, “Snooze” (550.83 million)6. The Weeknd, “Die for You” (539.29 million)7. Eslabon Armado x Peso Pluma, “Ella Baila Sola” (526.34 million)8. Luke Combs, “Fast Car” (525.51 million)9. Morgan Wallen, “You Proof” (517.58 million)10. Taylor Swift, “Cruel Summer” (507.78 million)Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through Dec. 28, 2023. Includes UGC streams.
DIGITAL TRACK SALES DECLINE FOR 11TH YEAR IN A ROW: Digital track sales declined for an 11th consecutive year, falling 11.9% to 133.88 million in 2023 (down from 151.9 million in 2022). The top-selling digital song of 2023 was Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” with 497,000 downloads sold. It was the second year in a row that no song sold more than a half-million downloads. Prior to 2022, it last happened in the early days of downloading, in 2004 (the first full year of the iTunes Store, which launched in mid-2003). Further, 2023 marks the second year in a row that no song sold 1 million copies. Before 2022, the industry last had a year without a million-selling download in 2005.
TOP 10-SELLING DIGITAL SONGS OF 2023 IN U.S.1. Jason Aldean, “Try That in a Small Town” (497,000)2. Miley Cyrus, “Flowers” (428,000)3. Oliver Anthony Music, “Rich Men North of Richmond” (358,000)4. Morgan Wallen, “Last Night” (302,000)5. Jimin, “Like Crazy” (296,000)6. Luke Combs, “Fast Car” (251,000)7. Jung Kook featuring Latto, “Seven” (228,000)8. Jelly Roll, “Need a Favor” (181,000)9. Jung Kook, “Standing Next to You” (163,000)10. Rema & Selena Gomez, “Calm Down” (159,000)Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022 through Dec. 28, 2023.
CYRUS’ ‘FLOWERS’ BLOOMED ON RADIO: Miley Cyrus’ “Flowers” was tops on radio in 2023, with 3.919 billion audience impressions earned across all monitored radio stations in the U.S. Audience impressions are measured by cross-referencing plays with Nielsen Audio audience data – i.e., a play of a song on a top-rated New York station at 8 a.m. on a Monday has more listeners (audience) than an overnight weekend play in a smaller city.
TOP 10 RADIO SONGS OF 2023 IN U.S. (BASED ON AUDIENCE IMPRESSIONS)1. Miley Cyrus, “Flowers” (3.919 billion)2. Rema & Selena Gomez, “Calm Down” (3.643 billion)3. Metro Boomin, The Weeknd & 21 Savage, “Creepin’” (3.529 billion)4. The Weeknd, “Die for You” (2.628 billion)5. SZA, “Kill Bill” (2.623 billion)6. Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero” (2.491 billion)7. David Guetta & Bebe Rexha, “I’m Good (Blue)” (2.448 billion)8. Morgan Wallen, “Last Night” (2.435 billion)9. Luke Combs, “Fast Car” (2.358 billion)10. Harry Styles, “As It Was” (2.199 billion)Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Dec. 30, 2022, through Dec. 28, 2023.
Taylor Swift dominates Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Dec. 30), as she holds the entire top four titles. That marks the first time any act has claimed the entire top four at the same time, since the chart bowed in May of 1991. For good measure, Swift has five of the top six titles, and six out of the top 10, as her titles populate Nos. 1-4, 6 and 10. Swift tops the list with 1989 (Taylor’s Version), which rises 2-1 for a third nonconsecutive week on top.
Swift leads a busy Top Album Sales chart, as the latest tally reflects the tracking week of Dec. 15-21 — capturing pre-Christmas Day shopping activity. Many titles see increases thanks to general holiday purchases, retailer promotions and sale pricing. On the 50-position chart, of the 49 non-debuts, a total of 44 titles boast weekly sales gains. Only five titles see weekly declines.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
The Swift parade in the top 10 of the chart is led by 1989 (Taylor’s Version), which climbs 2-1 for its third nonconsecutive week at No. 1 (95,000 copies sold; up 47%). Swift’s Midnights rises 5-2 (43,000; up 79%), Lover ascends 8-3 (30,000; up 55%) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) steps 6-4 (29,000; up 32%). The latter three are also former No. 1s.
Swift is also found in the top 10 at No. 6 with her chart-topping Folklore (falling two spots with 25,000; though up 4%) and at No. 10 with former leader Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (up from No. 16 with 19,000; up 70%).
Rounding out the non-Swift titles in the top 10 are these former No. 1s: Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts (9-5 with 26,000; up 37%), Stray Kids’ ROCK-STAR (holding at No. 7 with 24,000; up 20%), ATEEZ’s The World EP.Fin: Will (down 3-8 with 22,000; down 29%) and Dolly Parton’s Rockstar (10-9 with 19,000; up 8%).
In the week ending Dec. 21, there were 3.553 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 15.6% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 3.219 million (up 18.7%) and digital albums comprised 334,000 (down 7.6%).
There were 1.150 million CD albums sold in the week ending Dec. 21 (up 8.7% week-over-week) and 2.055 million vinyl albums sold (up 25.3%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 36.072 million (up 2.8% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 48.203 million (up 15.1%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 102.809 million (up 5.6% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 84.823 million (up 9.4%) and digital album sales total 17.986 million (down 9.3%).
Taylor Swift once again crowds the top 10 of Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, as the superstar has five titles lodged in the top 10 of the Dec. 23-dated tally. It’s the fifth time she’s held at least half of the top 10, with three of those weeks happening this month.
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Her most recent release, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), is a non-mover at No. 2 with 65,000 copies sold (up 21%) in the tracking week ending Dec. 14, according to Luminate. Folklore rises 5-4 (24,000; up 17%), Midnights climbs 8-5 (24,000; up 29%), Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) steps 7-6 (22,000; up 15%) and Lover returns to the top 10, ascending 12-8 (20,000; up 50%). The five former No. 1s all experience gains largely due to sales of their vinyl configurations, as retailers continue to promote music on vinyl during the holiday shopping season.
Swift isn’t the only big news in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, as Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 debuts at No. 1 with 92,000 copies sold. As earlier reported, that marks the biggest sales week for any rap album by a woman in the 2020s decade and the largest sales week for an R&B/hip-hop album by a woman in 2023. In total, Pink Friday 2 is Minaj’s third No. 1 on Top Album Sales, following Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded in 2012 and Pink Friday in 2011.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
As for the rest of the top 10 on the new Top Album Sales chart, ATEEZ’s The World EP. Fin: Will moves to No. 3 (30,000; down 79%) after debuting on top a week ago, Stray Kids’ former leader ROCK-STAR falls 4-7 (20,000; down 8%), Olivia Rodrigo’s chart-topping Guts rises 11-9 (19,000; up 40%, mostly from vinyl sales) and Dolly Parton’s former No. 1 Rockstar is a non-mover at No. 10 (18,000; down 4%).
In the week ending Dec. 14, there were 3.075 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 13.6% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 2.713 million (up 15.8%) and digital albums comprised 362,000 (up 1.1%).
There were 1.058 million CD albums sold in the week ending Dec. 14 (up 4.7% week-over-week) and 1.640 million vinyl albums sold (up 24.3%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 34.921 million (up 3.3% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 46.149 million (up 16.4%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 99.256 million (up 6.2% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 81.604 million (up 10.3%) and digital album sales total 17.652 million (down 9.2%).
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Source: James Devaney / Getty / Taylor Swift
Time Person of the Year Taylor Swift still has plenty to say about that fiasco between herself, Kanye West, and his then-wife Kim Kardashian.
There is still bad blood between Swift, Ye, and his ex-wife. In her Time Person of the Year interview, the “Shake It Off” singer opened up about the leaked phone conversation between herself and the antisemitic rapper in which he asked for permission to say her name in the 2016 track “Famous” off his very meh album, DONDA.
On the song, the artist, who now is called Ye, rapped, “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex/ Why? I made that bitch famous.” Swift claimed she had no idea the Chicago rapper would say the latter part of those lyrics after the song dropped.
West and his then-wife, Kim Kardashian, claimed that Swift was all on board with the tasteless bars.
Kim K took things further by dropping an edited video featuring the phone call between Ye and Swift, showing the singer approving the lyrics.
In the interview with Time, Swift said it felt like a “fully manufactured frame job.”
“[It was] an illegally recorded phone call, which Kim Kardashian edited and then put out to say to everyone that I was a liar,” Swift said.
Adding, “Make no mistake — my career was taken away from me… I thought that moment of backlash was going to define me negatively for the rest of my life.”
Swift Believes Karma Will Deal With Her Foes
Swift had to move to another country because everyone sided with the rapper and his wife, returning to the spotlight with her 2017 album Reputation.
“That took me down psychologically to a place I’ve never been before. I moved to a foreign country, “Swift told Time. “I didn’t leave a rental house for a year. I was afraid to get on phone calls.”
“I pushed away most people in my life because I didn’t trust anyone anymore,” adding, “I went down really, really hard.”
“But I’ve also learned there’s no point in actively trying to quote-unquote defeat your enemies,” Swift said. “Trash takes itself out every single time.”
Swift’s loyal fanbase, the Swifties, also did some detective work uncovering the entire recording proving that West was talking about a different lyric, not the one on “Famous.”
Good for her.
Swift is now living her best life with her new boo, Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl Champion tight end Travis Kelce while continuing to rake in tons of cash from her most recent tour, latest album, and concert film.
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Photo: James Devaney / Getty
Sped-up remixes continue to resonate on TikTok: The four most popular songs on the platform in the U.S. in 2023 were all sped-up, according to TikTok’s year-end report. The leader of the pack was the “more sped-up” version of Justine Skye’s “Collide,” followed by sped-up renditions of FIFTY FIFTY’s “Cupid,” PARTYNEXTDOOR’s “Her Way,” and Toosii’s “Favorite Song.”
U.K. listeners also enjoyed using up-tempo re-works of songs in their TikTok videos. In addition to “Collide” (No. 2 on the platform) and “Cupid” (No. 3), they also favored a sped-up version of George Ezra’s “Green Green Grass” (No. 4), MEYY’s “Pretty” (No. 6), and Raye and 070 Shake’s “Escapism” (No. 10).
The sped-up remixes that zip around TikTok are usually made first by creators (sometimes funded by label marketing efforts). If they start to perform well, it’s become routine for labels to release their own official versions.
“Back in the day, we used club remixes to diversify the visibility of a record,” Nima Nasseri, who then served as global head of A&R strategy for Universal Music Group’s music strategy and tactics team, explained in 2022. “The purpose was to bring back visibility to the main version. Now people are discovering the main version from the sped-up or slowed one. Instead of spending $50,000 for a remix from a big-name DJ, you’re spending relatively minimal amounts [on a sped-up rendition] and getting much more return and reach.”
Why have these simple remixes proved consistently effective? Steven Pardo, digital marketing director at Secretly Group, told Billboard in 2022 that “in a video platform that prioritizes catching attention immediately, being able to get the impact of the lyrics across more quickly is advantageous.”
Scott Plagenhoef, global head of music programming at Apple Music, echoed this sentiment during an interview with Billboard in March: “Sped-up songs allow for more of a track to be heard within the time constraints of a TikTok video and mirror the pace at which users consume content online.”
Increasing tempo can also “make the songs better — it brings out a different emotion,” according to Josh “Bru” Brubaker, a popular TikToker and radio personality for Audacy.
In the last 15 months, sped-up remixes have spurred chart surges for Thundercat‘s “Them Changes,” Miguel’s “Sure Thing” (actually a resurge, as it first charted over a decade ago), The Weeknd’s “Die for You,” Lady Gaga’s “Bloody Mary,” Mariah Carey’s “It’s a Wrap,” and more.
Due to TikTok’s popularity and its ability to drive streaming activity, Billboard launched a TikTok Top 50 chart in September, ranking tracks on the platform according to a combination of creations, video views and user engagement in the U.S. “The chart gives a clear picture of the music that is being listened to on TikTok, and consequently starting to trend on DSPs and other services,” Ole Obermann, global head of music business development at TikTok, said in a statement.
Across the first two months of the chart, hip-hop proved to be by far the most popular genre, accounting for more than 35% of chart entries. Pop was next, hovering at 20%, largely thanks to Taylor Swift, who had nine different charting tracks in the first eight weeks. The third most popular genre was R&B (10%).
U.S. listeners did listen to some music at its original tempo, according to TikTok’s year-end report. PinkPantheress and Ice Spice‘s “Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2,” Ohboyprince’s “Bounce When She Walk,” Young Nudy and 21 Savage’s “Peaches & Eggplants,” Ice Spice’s “In Ha Mood,” Jain’s “Makeba,” and Swift’s “Cruel Summer” rounded out the rest of the top 10.
The Year of Taylor just keeps rolling: on this week’s Billboard chart, Taylor Swift reigns with the biggest sales week of her career, as well as a new Hot 100 chart-topper replacing a different Swift song at No. 1. 1989 (Taylor’s Version), the fourth release in the superstar’s six-album re-recording project, earned 1.653 million equivalent album units in its debut week, scoring Swift her 13th No. 1 on the Billboard 200; that’s the biggest equivalent album units total for an album since Adele’s 25 in 2015, and also marks Swift’s largest sales week (1.359 million) to date.
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Meanwhile, “Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version),” one of five “From the Vault” tracks from the album, debuts at No. 1 on this week’s Hot 100 chart, giving Swift her 11th career chart-topper. And “Is It Over Now?” replaces her 10th Hot 100 No. 1, “Cruel Summer,” at the top, after the Lover fan favorite spent two weeks at the peak of the chart.
Which of Swift’s latest chart feats is more impressive? And have we just experienced the biggest month of her career? Billboard staffers discuss these questions and more below.
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1. With 1.653 million equivalent album units, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) gives Taylor Swift the largest week for any album, by units earned, since 2015, and easily becomes the biggest debut week for a Taylor’s Version album thus far. What do you think is the biggest reason for the monster debut? Danielle Pascual: If I had to pinpoint the moment Taylor solidified her place as a pop superstar, it would be after she dropped the original 1989 in 2014. During this album cycle, she racked up three Hot 100 No. 1s (“Shake It Off,” “Blank Space,” “Bad Blood”), spent 11 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, embarked on her massive first stadium tour and scored multiple Grammys, including album of the year. This was the era she started most interacting with fans — on social media (especially Tumblr), hosting listening parties for fans in her home pre-album release (the ‘Secret Sessions’), and even sending Christmas gifts to especially active fans (‘Swiftmas’). She also made headlines for a number of other reasons during this time — whether related to her open letter to Apple Music (in which she removed the album from the platform to advocate for artist rights) or her always-speculated dating life. The press cycle for the original project began nearly a decade ago, but it remains the album the general public is most familiar with, while still being regarded as a favorite for Swifties and critics alike.
Hannah Dailey: I think that 1989 was always an album for the people, not just Swifties; in fact, it converted a lot of people into Swift fans back in the day. It’s still her most chart- and radio-friendly album, full of hits that still wouldn’t feel out of place on the radio today (“Blank Space,” “Wildest Dreams,” “Shake it Off”). Plus, the recovered “Vault” song lore (allegedly) about her most high-profile relationship to date (ahem, Mr. Styles) doesn’t hurt, either.
Jason Lipshutz: When 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was announced in August, I outlined the monumental success of the original 1989, with key numbers that explained why the album stands out as a commercial and critical high in a career full of them. That era’s enormity is the main reason why this Taylor’s Version bow dwarfs the others’ debut weeks, its sugary pop exterior and chart-topping hits just too undeniable for longtime fans and casual listeners. Despite coming at a very busy time in the extended Swift universe, the arrival of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was always going to be too big to fail.
Katie Atkinson: The combination of Taylor’s most commercially successful album, combined with the groundswell of support around her Taylor’s Version re-recording mission, was bound to yield extraordinary results. Basically, the first half of Swift’s career was all leading up to the blockbuster success of 1989, and the second half of her career has all been leading up to her largest-ever sales week. It feels implausible that an artist as huge as Taylor still has higher heights to hit, 17 years in.
Kyle Denis: Obviously, a debut of this size is the result of many compounding reasonings, but I think the majority of the credit should be attributed to Swift’s momentum right now. Despite fairly sparse social media activity and a rest period for her Eras Tour, her new romance with Travis Kelce has made her a virtually inescapable media presence across sports, film and music. That kind of visibility, combined with her already having the No. 1 song in the country, probably helped push 1989 (Taylor’s Version) to its massive debut. I was always certain that 1989 (TV) would debut with over one million units, but I think it’s Swift’s overall career momentum that helped that number inch past Midnights’ 1.57 million debut.
2. While Swift scores the single-largest sales week for any of her albums (not just her Taylor’s Version albums!), “Is It Over Now?,” a “From the Vault” song from 1989 (Taylor’s Version), replace another Swift song, “Cruel Summer,” atop the Hot 100 chart. Which of the two accomplishments is more impressive to you?
Danielle Pascual: Both stats are widely impressive, but scoring the single-largest sales week for any of her albums is huge. Taylor didn’t really change up her physical format strategy for her latest Taylor’s Version — since Folklore, she’s released the album with multiple variations on vinyl and CD (including signed copies), as well as a cassette. Plus, when 1989 debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2014, it scored the single-largest sales week for an album since 2002. The fact that the Taylor’s Version replaced the original album from that top spot speaks to the power of her re-recording journey and fans’ desire for more.
Hannah Dailey: They’re both major, but I’d say her album sales record takes the cake. She’s always been remarkable because of her continued success with LPs, even during periods when public/generational appreciation for the album art form was on the decline. The fact that she’s still outdoing herself in that category is incredible.
Jason Lipshutz: While Swift scoring her largest career sales week at this point in an already storied career is a gargantuan feat, the fact that she was able to replace a song of hers from 2019, with a “From the Vault” song originally conceived for her 2014 album, at the top of the Hot 100 in the year 2023, feels even more mind-boggling as an achievement. Most artists need to release brand new songs to top the charts — not Swift, who has become so dominant in popular music that her songs can travel through time to No. 1.
Katie Atkinson: Ooh, they’re both crazy. But I’m going with the sales week because she’s already replaced herself atop the Hot 100 previously – when “Blank Space” unseated “Shake It Off” back in 2015 from, you guessed it, 1989. In fact, she’s still the only woman to ever replace herself at No. 1 on the chart. Getting these album sales numbers in 2023, let alone her highest-ever album in a career of highs, is next-level.
Kyle Denis: Definitely the album sales accomplishments. Considering that the original 1989 has already sold millions of copies – and keeping in mind the decline in overall albums sales activity over the past decade – the fact that Swift was able to snag this record in a career that already boasts five albums with opening weeks of over 1 million units is simply astounding. She’s technically already sent a “From the Vault” song to No. 1, so while congratulations are certainly in order, it’s not the most remarkable achievement of the past week for Swift.
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3. Do you think “Is it Over Now?” is in for an extended run as a new Swift hit, or do you think another “From the Vault” track has a better shot at ubiquity?
Danielle Pascual: At this point, I think “Is It Over Now?” will continue as the standout. There is plenty of chatter surrounding the song online — it even has a TikTok dance that grows more viral everyday. It’s the type of upbeat pop song we’d expect (and want) from the album that marked Taylor’s departure from country and true foray into pop.
Hannah Dailey: If any of the “Vault” tracks has a shot, it’s “Now That We Don’t Talk.” It’s a classic Swift earworm with relatable lyrics (minus the “mega yacht” part), and a lot of traction on TikTok.
Jason Lipshutz: “Say Don’t Go” is my personal favorite of the 1989 (Taylor’s Version) “From the Vault” songs, but the more I listen to “Is It Over Now?,” the more I appreciate its sonic nuance, lyrical detail (particularly the “three hundred takeout coffees later!,” which plays on my head in a loop) and the emotional rush of the physical movements involved in the chorus. “Is It Over Now?” Is both catchy and understated in a way that sounds durable at radio, and considering how well it’s already doing on streaming platforms, the song appears to be in for a long run at or near the top of the Hot 100. Katie Atkinson: I agree with our own Jason Lipshutz (oh hi, Jason!) that “Say Don’t Go” is the “From the Vault” winner on 1989 (Taylor’s Version). I don’t know that another “Vault” track could top the chart, but I could see it having the longest shelf life of the new batch of songs. I think more than anything, I’ll be curious to see which “From the Vault” tracks Taylor might pull out at her upcoming Eras Tour stops for the acoustic set. I definitely hope to see “Say Don’t Go” performed live.
Kyle Denis: I don’t see “Is It Over Now?” having much longevity at the top of the Hot 100, nor do I think any of the other “From the Vault” tracks will experience that fate. As commercially successful as the Taylor’s Version endeavor continues to be, just one “From the Vault” track has made any kind of lasting commercial impact beyond its first week of availability – and that was 10-minute update of a decade-old fan favorite and cult classic (“All Too Well (10 Minute/Taylor’s Version)”).
4. Within the span of one month, Swift’s Eras Tour concert film bowed big at the box office, “Cruel Summer” finally reached the top of the Hot 100 and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) scored the biggest sales week of her career (while also producing another Hot 100 chart-topper). Have we just witnessed the most dominant 30 days of Swift’s entire career? Danielle Pascual: Yes — and I think that will turn into the most dominant 60 days of her career. Just this week, for instance, Taylor returns for her blockbuster Eras tour after a three-month break, and she’s a front-runner for 2024 Grammy nominations with Midnights (set to be announced on Friday). Plus, Swifties believe a reputation (Taylor’s Version) announcement is imminent by year’s end, which will likely make a slew of new records of its own. What Barbra Walters once said seems to be true now more than ever: “Taylor Swift is the music industry.”
Hannah Dailey: So far? I’d say yes. But knowing her, I’d be hesitant to say that this is the most dominant she’ll ever be, only because she always seems to find a way to top herself. I’m curious whether this will light a fire under her to replicate the success she’s seeing now from her older material with new music down the line.
Jason Lipshutz: Yes. Throughout her career, Swift has enjoyed periods of multiple hits from the same project competing for space near the top of the Hot 100, huge album debuts, major awards and sold-out stadium runs — but this month feels singular, as if her presence in popular music is the same as popular music itself. She’s firing on all cylinders, across multiple mediums and eras, and has zero peers on her level. It’s an unparalleled run, and breathtaking to witness.
Katie Atkinson: Man, I thought that was back in July when Taylor was in the thick of her headline-dominating Eras Tour and had just released Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), only to have three songs from three different albums in the Hot 100 top 10 — “I Can See You (Taylor’s Version) (From the Vault)” (Speak Now, No. 5), “Cruel Summer” (Lover, No. 9) and the “Karma” remix featuring Ice Spice (Midnights, No. 10) — and of course the re-recorded 2010 album at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. But yeah, somehow, this surpasses even that.
Kyle Denis: Yes. As I said earlier, her current momentum is almost unparalleled.
5. Now that 1989 (Taylor’s Version) has been out for over a week, has your opinion changed on any of the hits (or existing album cuts) from the album?
Danielle Pascual: I don’t think so! As a lifelong Swiftie who saw Taylor live for the first time during the 1989 tour, my favorite songs off the original album are still my favorite songs today: “New Romantics,” “Clean” and “Out of the Woods.” I still think “Shake It Off” gets more hate than it deserves, and “Bad Blood” is her worst single off the album (though I recognize how important it was for her career). I do think this slew of “From the Vault” songs is my favorite out of all her Taylor’s Version re-recordings so far, and am excited to see how they’ll fare over time.
Hannah Dailey: This is the only Taylor’s Version so far to make me wish that the “Vault” songs had made it onto the actual track list, even if it were at the expense of songs on the original listing. I would’ve rather had “Say Don’t Go” over “All You Had to Do Was Stay,” “Now That We Don’t Talk” over “I Wish You Would” and “Is It Over Now?” over “How You Get The Girl” – as much as I love every one of those songs. I think this new light shed on her track list choices serves as further proof that her primary focus with 1989 was to make a super-polished pop album that maybe wasn’t quite as vulnerable as her past work, but more palatable to a wider audience. Granted, this approach obviously worked out well for her career at the time, with 1989 spending 11 weeks atop the Billboard 200, and securing a second album of the year Grammy win.
Jason Lipshutz: “Blank Space” remains the most perfect single from that album, but “Wildest Dreams” has turned into a personal favorite, maybe more than any of the 1989 hits. The sweep of the hook! The urgency of the final chorus! I appreciate it all a little bit more now than I did nine years ago.
Katie Atkinson: The hits? No! 1989 is still perfect. And this might be my favorite batch of “From the Vault” tracks of any Taylor’s Version album so far, just because most of them would feel at home on her new albums, too.
Kyle Denis: Still a massive fan of 1989, but having sat with the re-recording for over a week, I don’t think 1989 (Taylor’s Version) does justice to the original. Nonetheless, I do really enjoy “Slut!”
“Every year ends, and I think to myself, ‘That was a little crazy!’ ” Jack Antonoff says with a laugh. “It shouldn’t feel familiar, but it does.” That’s because the 39-year-old studio polymath has rarely experienced a quiet 12-month period over the past decade, juggling multiple production and songwriting projects while fronting his own band, Bleachers.
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During the past year, Antonoff has helped steer Taylor Swift’s mega-selling Midnights, Lana Del Rey’s sweeping Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd and The 1975’s ultra-catchy Being Funny in a Foreign Language, while also prepping Bleachers’ fourth full-length. He has signed a new label deal with Dirty Hit Records, brought in label founder Jamie Oborne as manager and inked a new deal with Universal Music Publishing Group. (“It doesn’t feel like anything’s shaken up, just that the team’s got a couple new members,” Antonoff says of the moves.) All the while, he’s eyeing a potential fifth consecutive producer of the year, non-classical Grammy nomination and third straight win, which would be the first three-peat in the category this century should it occur.
Two years ago, Antonoff shared with Billboard his seven habits of highly effective producers. As he hunkers down in the studio for the next few months — finishing Bleachers’ follow-up to 2021’s Take the Sadness Out of Saturday Night and generally “chipping away at stuff” — he revealed his latest takeaways from his past year’s work.
Don’t Let Commercial Gains Distract in a Creative Space
Case study: Taylor Swift, “Anti-Hero”
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Midnights scored the biggest Billboard 200 debut of Swift’s career and her Eras Tour became the summer’s hottest stadium ticket, but Antonoff says that he marvels at how his frequent collaborator keeps her level of superstardom very much outside the studio. “There’s not a lot of panning back in the room — ‘Whoa, look at this [achievement], look at that!’ — because that would feel like popping the balloon,” he explains. “When I work with Taylor, there’s still just this person who has these life experiences and this remarkable gift of writing about them.”
See: “Anti-Hero,” the lead single from Midnights that sardonically prods at Swift’s insecurities. “When we made ‘Anti-Hero,’ I just thought, ‘Wow, that’s so honest and funny, and also so sweet and so sad,’ ” Antonoff recalls, adding that the song, which became Swift’s longest-leading Hot 100 chart-topper earlier this year, wouldn’t have worked if they had been preoccupied by her radio appeal during its creation. “It has this weird beat going through a tremolo — no part of me was like, ‘F–king A, that’s the song to take over the world!’ ”
Sometimes the Spark Takes Time…
Case study: The 1975, “Part of the Band”
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“Who would you want to work with?” It’s a question Antonoff often hears, and one he finds impossible to answer. “I can only want to work with someone based on knowing them and seeing where they’re going,” he says. When Antonoff met The 1975, he envisioned a creative partnership where he could add to the band’s sound on its fifth album — but still experienced “that weird kind of early-relationship stuff” on Being Funny in a Foreign Language, his first project with the British rock group.
“Part of the Band,” the restrained, stream-of-consciousness lead single, helped alleviate some of that awkwardness. “It wasn’t the first thing we did,” Antonoff recalls, “but there’s a big difference between the first thing you do and the moment that you’re like, ‘Oh, sh-t. We have that ability.’ Anyone can get in a room and carve out a song and make it sound halfway cool, but the idea of collaborating with people is doing something bigger than the sum of the parts.” Ultimately, “Part of the Band” unlocked the rest of Being Funny in a Foreign Language, which spun off five top 40 hits on the Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.
…And Sometimes a Hit Can Take a Really Long Time
Case study: Taylor Swift, “Cruel Summer”
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“That was always one of my favorite songs I’d ever done,” Antonoff says of Swift’s Lover standout, a synth-pop fantasia that became a fan favorite upon the 2019 album’s release. “Cruel Summer” didn’t become a hit single during the Lover album cycle, which was curtailed due to the pandemic, and Antonoff made peace with its cult-classic status. But earlier this year, as the song became the centerpiece of the opening of Swift’s mega-selling Eras tour, “Cruel Summer” began soaring in streams, then in radio play, and climbed all the way to No. 3 on the Hot 100, morphing into one of the defining songs of the summer of 2023.
“It was just like, a huge thumbs-up from the universe,” Antonoff says of the song’s viral resurgence this year. “I take it all as a reminder to do what you believe in, make the songs you believe in. You never want to do anything that you don’t believe in for the sake of success, because the only thing worse than doing something you don’t believe in is being recognized for that thing! … With [‘Cruel Summer’], I loved that it existed, and didn’t need anything more from it. It’s just this bizarre icing on the cake.”
Ambition Comes in Many Forms
Case study: Lana Del Rey, “A&W”
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Antonoff says that his most frequent collaborators share the characteristic of “becoming obsessed with understanding what their ambition is and how to access it constantly” rather than resting on their laurels. That creative curiosity manifests itself in different ways: For Swift, after the indie-folk storytelling on folklore and evermore in 2020, “There was this sense of blazing out of the cabin” with the personal pop of Midnights. Meanwhile, The 1975 came to Antonoff after several winding, esoteric full-lengths, and he helped push Being Funny in a Foreign Language into uncharted territory for the band: a tight, interlude-free pop-rock record.
For Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd, the seven-minute centerpiece, “A&W” — which begins as a folk lament before flipping into a trap refrain midway through — resulted from experimenting with other album tracks like “Peppers” and “Taco Truck x VB,” mashing up sounds until arriving at the most innovative structure possible, according to Antonoff. “This sprawling thing was the most ambitious thing to do. A song like ‘A&W’ is just an example of what happens when you just know people so well that you can really support each other into strange places.”
Make an Entrance
Case study: Bleachers, “Modern Girl”
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Bleachers’ upcoming fourth album, which Antonoff and his six-piece group made with co-producer Patrik Berger and a few special guests, translates the jubilance of the band’s live show into a studio setting. Not every song is as boisterous as “Modern Girl,” released in September as the project’s lead single, but for Antonoff, its 1980s-indebted mix of jittery vocal energy and uncorked saxophone blasts captured “enough left-field sh-t that speaks to where the album is going” and was the obvious introduction.
“Putting out albums is like pulling at both the past and the future, and ‘Modern Girl’ just felt like this perfect shock and comfort moment, both honoring where Bleachers has been and where it’s going,” he says of the new album, due next year. “I’ve always believed in this ‘house’ mentality of just understanding what an album is, and ‘Modern Girl’ just feels like the biggest front door.”
A version of this story originally appeared in the Oct. 7, 2023, issue of Billboard.